Crushing ivory trafficking

National Wildlife Property Repository supervisor Bernadette Atencio shows elephant tusks in a clay figure that was used to smuggle them into the country. They are part of an estimated 6 tons of confiscated ivory that will be crushed in October. (Joe Amon, The Denver Post)

Thank you for placing such an important story on the front page of The Denver Post.

Ivory poaching is rampant in Africa, and without awareness in the general population and strong action by governments across the world to help combat the endless slaughter, we will live on a planet where our children may never see an elephant in the wild. They are incredibly intelligent and gentle creatures, and killing them for trinkets is a crime against nature.

I applaud our government for choosing to destroy the ivory and use it to build a memorial to honor the slain elephants.

Gretchen Healey, Denver

This letter was published in the Sept. 17 edition.

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I agree that killing elephants just for their tusks needs to be stopped, but I was somewhat dismayed by Gretchen Healey’s description of the African elephant. Intelligent? Absolutely. Gentle? Anything but… Perhaps she has them confused with Asian elephants? Not that it matters in the context of the story or the letter… just thinking out loud.

thor

Good point. All animals can be less than gentle if cornered. But it was a nice sentiment.

peterpi

Like people, it depends on the circumstances.
I’ve read news articles of elephants rampaging through Indian villages.

DR

I was just thinking about her comment in relation to the Asian elephants. They tend to be benign and sociable when it comes to man (but not always as you pointed out). African elephants on the other hand…get within 150- 100 yards of the herd and the bull will take a very keen interest in you and even give you a few warnings that your presence is unwelcome. Get any closer and your very likely to meet the business end of those tusks or the bottom of its feet. It’s with that in mind that made her comment about them being “gentle” stand out to me. But like I said, its of no consequence; just me being bored without anything more meaningful to discuss.

johnrpack

While demand exists and starving African people do whatever it takes to survive, elephants will be in trouble — regardless of laws.

A better solution is to allow ivory trade — and allow individuals to buy, raise, and harvest elephants. That includes allowing philanthopists to buy thousands of African acres, let elephants roam freely, and purchase the security needed to proctect them.

People care about their property and protect it. But when it’s a valuable resource, unprotected by the community, the poor will turn it into a tragedy of the commons.

irisman

Trafficking in endangered animals and animal parts is a problem worldwide, and China is the world’s worst offender, because they make ivory sculptures, and make potions from rhinocerus horns and other potions from tiger parts, just to name a few. They have no conservation ethic or concern for the environment.

peterpi

They sure don’t appear to.
Rhinos are becoming extinct over the rhinos’ horns, so that Chinese males can feel, um, naturally “Viagra-ized”.
The fact rhino horn has “NO” known benefit — except to the rhino — doesn’t bother the men. Just the idea that it “might” improve their “performance”, is enough.
The same holds for shark fins. Shark fins hold no medicinal value, although Chinese men think it improves the men’s “performance”. So, sharks are fished out of the water, their dorsal fins are brutally hacked off, then the shark is thrown back in the water, either to bleed to death, or to be torn apart by other sharks, literally smelling blood in the water. Those sharks are then attacked for their fins, and so on, decimating a whole school or flock or [whatever a large bunch of sharks is called].
The same is true of a small bird that migrates between Saudi Arabia and Central Russia. Saudi men think eating them improves the men’s “abilities”. So, wealthy Saudi men organize hunting parties where each man shoots dozens of the birds, then has half a dozen or so each for several nightly meals.
I wonder how much nature we’d still have if men weren’t so darn insecure and gullible about their sexual ability.
Let’s see, Australia has an endemic acute human-caused rabbit problem. Hmmm … I wonder what it would take to persuade Chinese males that eating Australian rabbits …

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